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Novak Djokovic is the US Open champion for the third time, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. On The Tennis Podcast, David and Catherine discuss his brilliant performance.
Does the straight-sets scoreline do Del Potro a disservice? Was he a little too cautious early on? Did the slow conditions play a part? How crucial was that epic 20-minute game?
Djokovic is now level with Pete Sampras on 14 Grand Slams titles. It suddenly looks possible that he might bridge the gap to Nadal and Federer, doesn’t it? Without question, his relentless dominance is back. How has he turned his season around so spectacularly since losing early at the French Open? Will he now end the year as World No.1?
Elsewhere, the fallout has continued from the women’s final. David and Catherine discuss the statement from WTA CEO Steve Simon and tackle the big question: was there sexism at play?
Finally, there’s time reflect on the 2018 US Open as a whole. What were the highlights? How will it be remembered?
The Tennis Podcast is uploaded weekly throughout the year and daily at the Grand Slam tournaments. It is produced in associated with Telegraph Sport and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
At the end of a mind-blowing day, and one of the most controversy-filled Grand Slams finals in history, David and Catherine sit down to run through the events in full.
With emotions running high, the theme of the discussion is the need for nuance. Can we accept Serena as a highly-inspirational role model who is also capable of quite unedifying behaviour? And were all three code violations justified?
Not for the first time this tournament, the incident brought the role of the umpire into question. How can Carlos Ramos be criticised for sticking to the letter of the law? Could he have issued a soft warning? Are different standards applied to men and women?
None of the controversy should detract, however, from the spell-binding performance of Naomi Osaka. Before everything kicked off, she was beating Serena handily. In fact, was her brilliance the root cause of Serena's bad temper?
Has there ever been a better performance on debut in a Grand Slam final? We knew Osaka could strike the ball cleanly, but she also proved she can handle an occasion. This was her moment and she seized it.
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The US Open men’s semi-finals did not deliver the competitiveness they promised – partly due to Rafael Nadal’s knee, partly due to Novak Djokovic’s brilliance.
On The Tennis Podcast, on his birthday, David is joined separately by Simon Briggs of Telegraph Sport and Catherine to talk about it all.
Nadal’s knee meant he had to retire when trailing Juan Martin del Potro by two sets. Is it a coincidence that he’s had to pull out of both hard court slams in 2018? How will he manage his body going forward?
On a wider scale, Simon points out that a concerning pattern is developing: a number of showpiece matches this year have been compromised by injury or fatigue. Is tennis becoming too physical? Does something need to change? And is the solution to get rid of five sets?
Del Potro’s victory was almost lost in all this, but he played well. His powerful-again backhand, in particular, was impressive. But what chance will he stand against Djokovic in the final?
Djokovic beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Nishikori actually played pretty well, but Djokovic was simply exceptional. David thinks he is playing as well as ever.
Will the crowd influence the final? Del Potro can be inspired by the chanting of his name, but Catherine reckons it will also bring the defiant best out of Djokovic.
Finally, who are Catherine and David predicting to win the women’s final between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The women’s final is set: Serena Williams will face Naomi Osaka on Saturday. On The Tennis Podcast, David and Catherine discuss how both players got there.
Serena beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-0. What made this such a formidable performance? David was struck by Serena's net game. Has she ever been forward more? And was it a pre-planned tactic or a mid-match adjustment?
Is there a difference between “needing” and “wanting” Grand Slam titles? Catherine wonders whether, with Olympia now in her life, Serena no longer “needs” to win the US Open….but she might just want it more than ever.
Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, saved all 13 break points to beat Madison Keys in straight sets. How did she turn the negative head-to-head record in her favour? There’s lots of talk about her improved movement and defence, as well as her loveable interviews.
How will Osaka handle the occasion in her first Grand Slam final? She idolises Serena. She also beat her in Miami this year. But this is a different Serena.
Looking ahead to the men’s semi-finals, there’s lots of excitement about the potential for epics. Will the matches deliver the goods? Catherine and David still have a feeling for Del Potro. But conditions are set to be less hot and humid. How much will that favour Djokovic?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the first time in the Open Era there will be a Japanese man and woman in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam after contrasting wins for Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori.
Osaka was brilliant again, cruising past an out-of-sorts Lesia Tsurenko. Is she playing the best tennis of anyone in the draw?
Nishikori then reeled in Marin Cilic to win in five sets. Was he inspired by Osaka’s victory? Not for the first time, Cilic suffered an alarmingly sudden loss of form and became very agitated. Why does this keep happening?
In the night session, David and Catherine lament the 'disrespectful' crowd noise during the Madison Keys vs. Carla Suarez Navarro match. Could the umpire have done more? Does the US Open need to embrace the power of silence?
Despite the atmosphere, Keys played well again. Will she beat Osaka tomorrow? In the other women’s semi-final, are there any weaknesses with Serena’s movement that Sevastova could expose?
In the Djokovic vs. Millman match, which Djokovic won pretty comfortably in the end, there was a bizarre moment when the match stopped to allow Millman to change his clothes. What was going on?
Finally, Catherine reflects on a day in the Amazon Prime Video studio with Jimmy Connors. Who is the 5-time US Open champion predicting to win the men’s title? And does he feel protective of his long-standing records?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the second night in a row, the end of The Tennis Podcast had to be recorded at past 2am in New York.
That’s because Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem played a marathon match long into the night, with Nadal prevailing in a thrilling deciding set tiebreak.
This was tennis at its absolute best, say David and Catherine, and also a brilliant advert for fifth set tiebreaks.
Nadal will now face Del Potro in a repeat of last year’s semi-final. Del Potro beat Isner in a match that played out as most people expected. Is there an irresistible force behind Del Potro pushing him to the title?
Elsewhere, there was a big surprise in the opening match of the day when Sloane Stephens was beaten in straight-sets by Anastasija Sevastova. How did Sevastova “bamboozle” the defending champion? Did Stephens show mental weakness?
Will Sevastova’s variety and court craft trouble Serena Williams in the semi-finals? Serena was a comfortable winner against Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday night. How well did she play?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This is a Tennis Podcast in two parts.
First of all, David and Catherine recorded almost half an hour of chat about the day session, reflecting on wins for Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys and Novak Djokovic, and looking ahead to the quarter-finals.
Then the night session happened. And all hell broke loose.
At 2:15am, David and Simon Briggs tried to pick up the pieces following Roger Federer’s shock defeat to John Millman. Federer hit 76 unforced errors, made 10 double faults and landed less than 50% of his first serves. Why was he so off his game? Where does he go from here?
In his press conference, Federer admitted that he suffered badly in the heat and humidity. Has he ever sweated so much?
Also in the night session, Maria Sharapova endured her first ever defeat under the lights in New York against Carla Suarez Navarro. How much longer will Sharapova put up with not contending for Grand Slams?
There will daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With no obvious headline on Day 7 at the US Open, David and Catherine start the Tennis Podcast by purring over the form of Sloane Stephens and trying to pin down what makes her such a sublime player. They agree she has a sixth sense, but is she unstoppable at her best? It certainly felt like it against Elise Mertens.
Another good performance from Serena is discussed. How well did she do to weather the second set onslaught from Kaia Kanepi? Will the quietly impressive Karolina Pliskova provide her biggest test yet in the next round?
Dominic Thiem pulled off the result of the day on the men’s side, beating last year’s finalist Kevin Anderson in straight sets. Did Anderson’s five-setters catch up with him?
Thiem’s next opponent is Nadal. The world No.1 was rattled by the brilliance of Basilashvili, with the Georgian adopting a similar aggressive approach to Khachanov. Has Khachanov softened Nadal up? If so, can Thiem deliver the knockout blow?
Elsewhere, John Isner and Milos Raonic played a five-set match without any tiebreaks. How on earth did that happen?
On Monday, Maria Sharapova has been handed another night session slot. That’s four in a row. Is that fair?
There will daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Federer vs. Kyrgios may not have lived up to our lofty expectations, but it still delivered a number of talking points for Catherine and David on The Tennis Podcast.
It was neither a total capitulation nor a fully-engaged performance from Kyrgios. Why does Catherine believe it was a step backwards? Will he finally get a coach?
Federer, meanwhile, produced a shot of genius. You must have seen it. Where does it rank in his long list of memorable moments?
Elsewhere, it was a day laden with upsets. The defeats of Angelique Kerber, Caroline Garcia, Lucas Pouille and Alexander Zverev are discussed. David is refusing to talk about Petra Kvitova…
Were we expecting too much too soon from the Lendl-Zverev partnership? When will the German solve the Grand Slam conundrum?
The devastating form of Naomi Osaka also gets a mention. She’s won three 6-0 sets in a row!
There will daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After all the off-court drama of the past few days, the excitement on day five at the US Open was to be found on the court. David is joined separately by Simon Briggs and Catherine to talk about it all.
Serena vs. Venus was a remarkable occasion, as expected, but Serena’s brilliance made it a one-sided contest. Has she sent a message to the rest of the field?
The match of the day was undoubtedly the four-hour epic between Karen Khachanov and Rafael Nadal. Is it time to raise our expectations of Khachanov? How much of a concern is Nadal’s knee for the rest of the tournament?
Elsewhere, Saturday’s order of play is another cracker. Eyebrows were raised when Federer vs. Kyrgios was scheduled for the day session, but David is on hand with an explanation. Will the conditions favour either player?
There will daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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